BC Education - Preface: Using This Integrated Resource Package

Math K-7 IRP Preface: Using This Integrated Resource Package

This Integrated Resource Package (IRP) provides basic information teachers will require in order to implement the Mathematics K to 7 curriculum. The information contained in this IRP is also available via the Ministry web site: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/irp.htm . The following paragraphs provide brief descriptions about each section of the IRP.

The Introduction

The Introduction provides general information about Mathematics K to 7, including special features and requirements. It also provides a rationale for teaching Mathematics K to 7 in BC schools.

Mathematics K to 7 Curriculum

The provincially prescribed curriculum for Mathematics K to 7 is structured in terms of curriculum organizers. The main body of this IRP consists of four columns of information for each organizer. These columns describe:

provincially prescribed learning outcome statements
suggested instructional strategies for achieving the outcomes
suggested assessment strategies for determining how well students are achieving the outcomes
provincially recommended learning resources

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

Learning outcome statements are content standards for the provincial education system. Prescribed learning outcomes set out the knowledge, enduring ideas, issues, concepts, skills, and attitudes for each subject. They are statements of what students are expected to know and be able to do in each grade. Learning outcomes are clearly stated and expressed in observable terms. All learning outcomes complete the stem: "It is expected that students will . . . . ". Outcome statements have been written to enable teachers to use their experience and professional judgment when planning and evaluating. The outcomes are benchmarks that will permit the use of criterion-referenced performance standards. It is expected that actual student performance will vary. Evaluation, reporting, and student placement with respect to these outcomes depend on the professional judgment of teachers, guided by provincial policy.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Instruction involves the use of techniques, activities, and methods that can be employed to meet diverse student needs and to deliver the prescribed curriculum. Teachers are free to adapt the suggested instructional strategies or substitute others that will enable their students to achieve the prescribed learning outcomes. These strategies have been developed by specialist and generalist teachers to assist their colleagues; they are suggestions only.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

The assessment strategies suggest a variety of ways to gather information about student performance. Some assessment strategies relate to specific activities; others are general. These strategies have been developed by specialist and generalist teachers to assist their colleagues; they are suggestions only.

Provincially Recommended Learning Resources

Provincially recommended learning resources are materials that have been reviewed and evaluated by BC educators in collaboration with the Ministry of Education according to a stringent set of criteria. These resources are organized as Grade Collections. A Grade Collection is the format used to organize the provincially recommended learning resources by grade and by curriculum organizer. It can be regarded as a "starter set" of basic resources to deliver the curriculum. These resources are typically materials suitable for student use, but they may also include information primarily intended for teachers. Teachers and school districts are encouraged to select those resources that they find most relevant and useful for their students, and to supplement these with locally approved materials and resources to meet specific
local needs.

The recommended resources listed in the main body (fourth column) of this IRP are those that either present comprehensive coverage of the learning outcomes of the particular curriculum organizer or provide unique support to specific topics. Further information about these recommended learning resources is found in Appendix B.

The Appendices

A series of appendices provides additional information about the curriculum, and further support for the teacher.

Appendix A lists the curriculum organizers and the prescribed learning outcomes for each grade for the curriculum.
Appendix B consists of general information on learning resources as well as Grade Collection organizational charts and annotations for the provincially recommended resources. New resources are evaluated and added to the Grade Collections on a regular basis.
Appendix C contains assistance for teachers regarding provincial evaluation and reporting policy. Prescribed learning outcomes have been used as the source for samples of criterion-referenced evaluations.
Appendix D acknowledges the many people and organizations that have been involved in the development of this IRP.

Explanation of Section

Curriculum Sub-Organizer as seen on the World Wide Web

Grade and
Curriculum Organizer

Grades K to 1 - Foundations

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

Internal links to each
section of the document

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will recognize, describe, and use numbers from 0 to 100 in a variety of familiar settings.

It is expected that students will:

count orally by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100
estimate and count objects in a set (0 to 50) and compare estimates to the actual number
recognize, build, compare, and order sets of objects (0 to 50) using both comparative and numerical terms
read number words up to 10
explore, represent, and describe numbers up to 50 in a variety of ways
use a calculator or computer to explore and represent numbers up to 100
demonstrate and explain orally an understanding of "half" as part of a whole

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Number (Number Concepts) in other grades click on an icon below.

Navigational Links to similar sub-organizers

Suggested Instructional Strategies

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Children are surrounded by numbers in their daily lives. They see them in print, hear them, and use them daily. Most children come to school able to count by rote to a certain number. Yet their understanding of those numbers and number sequences varies and needs to be developed. They need focused experiences to be able to explore numbers and their corresponding quantities in real and practical ways. They also need to communicate their understanding through the use of materials and in conversations as they use numbers in context.

Using classroom experiences, have students count objects or people in a room, at work stations, and so on.
Have students act out counting rhymes and finger plays.
Have children use counters and mats to show different sets of objects; to compare sets with a partner, discussing who has more and who has less; and to demonstrate their ability to order mats from the fewest number to the greatest number.
Conduct simple cooking activities such as making cookies or trail mix in which children do such things as determine the amount of each ingredient to include and halve the ingredients.
Provide opportunities for students to guess/estimate: - Fill a small jar with cubes or other objects and have students guess how many cubes are in the jar. Then count the cubes to see which students' guesses were close. Use a number line to show students the "closeness" of one number to another. Refill the jar with different objects and have students estimate how many of each are in the jar. - Make a hidden-search picture with various objects in it and have children determine how many of each object are in the picture.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

There are many opportunities for children to organize and count objects in the classroom. Sometimes these opportunities are created by the teacher; other times the children discover ways to use their growing skills and knowledge on their own. In assessing children's abilities to use numbers appropriately, engage them in dialogue and observe them as they share their knowledge with others.

Observe

As children are engaged in oral counting activities, observe which children are participating, how they are participating, and what they are saying.
Observe children as they match counters to numerals on their mats.
Observe children as they order a deck of cards in increasing order.
Observe children's ability to assign a numeral to a set of objects (e.g., "9 buttons").

Question

Have children count out the appropriate number of children needed to act out a rhyme.
Have children explain their estimates. Ask: Why did you pick that number? How do you know it will be more or less than the last one?

Collect